A special House commission to study flooding on the Pawtuxet River convened for its inaugural meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 30.

The panel, tasked with studying and providing its findings and potential solutions to address flooding issues, met in a conference room at the State House.

A resolution (2025-H 5847A) creating the commission was introduced earlier this year by Rep. Earl A. Read III (D-Dist. 26, Coventry, West Warwick, Warwick), whose district includes a portion of the river, which has a tendency to flood.

Read, a former Warwick police officer, was voted chair of the commission at the outset of the meeting.

“The Pawtuxet is Rhode Island’s largest watershed, flowing 17 miles from Scituate to Narragansett Bay. In recent years, it has produced severe flooding events including back-to-back floods in December of 2023 and January of 2024, which devastated Warwick, West Warwick, Cranston, Scituate and Johnston neighborhoods,” said Read. “Our task is not only to examine the causes but also to identify practical solutions that we can recommend.”

In addition to Read, the commission includes Rep. Thomas E. Noret (D-Dist. 25, Coventry, West Warwick), Rep. Robert Quattrocchi (R-Dist. 41, Scituate, Cranston), Hope Village resident Allen Durand, Apponaug Brewing Company co-owner Tamara McKenney, Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency Planning Branch Chief Melinda Hopkins, Warwick Sewer Authority Executive Director BettyAnne Rogers, Department of Environmental Management Chief Resiliency Officer Kimberly Korioth and Pawtuxet River Authority Chairman Robert Nero.

The commission will report its findings to the House of Representatives no later than March 2, 2026. If more time is needed, an evaluation of an extension can be completed at that time.

“Given the urgency of the issue, our work begins today,” said Read. “We all want to protect our communities, safeguard our businesses and build long-term resilience.”

Members of the commission introduced themselves on record, each stating why they were particularly vested in the flooding issue.

“Having gone through the massive flood of 2010 with our treatment facility going underwater and having to be rebuilt from the ground up, I’m very interested in working with all of you to find some solutions to the flooding issues,” said Rogers, the Warwick Sewer Authority’s executive director.

McKenney, the Apponaug Brewing Company co-owner, said her business was hit particularly hard by the 2023-24 floods. The brewery is on the river at 334 Knight St. in Warwick.

McKenney said the taproom was flooded by more than 3 feet of water for several days during those floods.

According to the legislation introduced to form the commission, the purpose of the commission is to study and provide findings and potential solutions to address the flooding of the Pawtuxet River including, but not limited to:

• Infrastructure improvements such as dredging the riverbed, building floodwalls or levees, enhancing storm drains and implementing green infrastructure such as rain gardens
• Revising land-use planning to limit development in floodplains
• Community preparedness initiatives to minimize flood impacts and promote resilience.

Read said that the Army Corps of Engineers would be presenting to the commission next months on “what they’ve done in the past and possibly what they could recommend.”

Allen Durand, a resident of Scituate, suggested the commission obtain drone images of the entire river from Scituate to Pawtuxet Cove to get a proper visual for the geography of the area. Other commissioners agreed.

Read said the meetings are open to the public and some will have public comment periods on the agenda. He invites members of the community to be involved with the study. Read says he hopes to hear from first responders in the municipalities affected by the river’s flooding. The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 29.